The Missing Year: Goliath
by SadArticle
Summary: A series of personal e-mails between Kitt and Bonnie during the second season episode 'Goliath'. More 'episodes' to come!


The Missing Year: Goliath

_A/N: My original formatting included e-mail addresses for Bonnie, at the University of San Francisco (Computer Science department), Kitt and April, at Knight Industries, but this website doesn't have a sense of irony, unfortunately, so names it is!_

**From: Bonnie Barstow**

**Date: Monday October 3, 1983 7:47 p m**

**To: KITT**

**Subject: Re: The mobile unit isn't the same without you**

Thank you for your message, Kitt. It's good to keep in touch, and I'm lucky to have a friend like you. If you want to tell Michael, I don't mind, but I think I need to make what he would call 'a clean break' here – no Foundation business. Let him know where I am and how I'm getting on, if he asks, but I don't think he will. He made his feelings perfectly clear.

How are you getting on with April Curtis? When I talked with her, she was full of innovative ideas, which is probably what Knight Industries needs right now. The culmination of my time there was basically an extension of you, fine-tuning your systems and adding new components. What could I hope to achieve after that? All the same, Kitt, there are limits – promise me you will communicate with April like you would with me. If you are uncomfortable with a proposed alteration to your systems, or an addition to the Knight 2000, tell her. Michael and Devon will back you up.

I haven't had a chance to take in San Francisco yet, what with moving into my apartment, starting at USF, meeting the faculty, and finding my way around the neighborhood. When I do get a chance to sit down, I usually have a mountain of paperwork to keep me busy. But Kitt, I am so excited to be here! I miss everyone at the Foundation of course, but this is a chance for me to prove what I can really do. Thank you for being supportive.

**From: KITT**

**Date: Monday, October 3, 1983 8:01 p m**

**To: Bonnie Barstow**

**Subject: Foundation business**

It's good to hear from you, Bonnie. I miss you. Michael does too; or at least, he asked if I was missing you, and agreed with me when I said I did. I have not told him about our correspondence. Michael is not one for keeping in touch long distance, and since you do not wish to be updated on Foundation business, and he has no knowledge or interest in computer science there would be little to say on either side. Please do not blame him for being angry; you are part of the family, and if he reacted badly to your plans, it can only have been because he did not want you to leave. I can understand his motivation, if not his behavior.

April Curtis is a very capable and confident technician, Bonnie. I judge her by your standards – if she can keep pace with Michael, repairing and preparing on demand, then I cannot fault her skill, or her ingenuity. Devon also has her working double duty in the office when Michael and I are on assignment, and she seems adept at stage managing Mr Miles into the bargain. Her qualifications are suitably extensive for the post, which I'm sure is why you recommended her. On a personal level, as Michael would say, we get along well. My relationship with April is modest compared to our unique history, or even the personalised nature of my partnership with Michael, but she is interested in her work and has an understanding of my place in the FLAG team. I am allowed to voice my opinion, and trust April would be considerate of any reservation or protest I might have, though nothing has yet occurred to test my theory. Please do not worry, Bonnie.

I am glad that everything is going well for you in San Francisco. Michael has told me something of the location, mainly about the hilltop roads that almost defy gravity and the marina, but he also mentioned that there is some unusual form of mass transport system in place there which sounds very primitive. I hope you will soon settle into your new home, and remember that you are not only there to study. Do not work too hard.

When you need to take a break, I have a new blackjack program, if you would like to play against me. Michael asked April to install something called 'Texas hold 'em' ahead of our drive to Las Vegas, but she refused. Michael persisted, however, and they eventually compromised on blackjack. I was initially intrigued by the mathematical element, but now I am also starting to comprehend the human weakness for gambling.

**From: Bonnie Barstow**

**Date: Tuesday, October 4, 1983 7.30 a m**

**To: KITT**

**Subject: Blackjack**

Good morning, Kitt. I remember the days when we used to play Tic-Tac-Toe together, now you're a card shark! I would love to test out your new software, but try not to get carried away, especially in Las Vegas. My father taught me to play blackjack when I was a little girl, and we could never stop at five rounds each – if I was winning, I wanted more, and if I was losing, I had to get back on top. We're a lot alike in that respect, Kitt. Even though you will have the advantage over Michael, keep away from the casinos, please!

Did April design the blackjack application for you? If she can tidy up after Michael, organise Devon, and keep you entertained, then I definitely have nothing to worry about! I miss you too, Kitt. We've been together in one way or another for the best part of my career, and leaving you to the care of a stranger – even a stranger you like – has been like doubling down in blackjack: a risk I had to take. Let's hope I haven't thrown away my winning hand.

Enjoy the Las Vegas experience – your second 'working vacation' to the city – and don't let Michael gamble away all his expenses!

**From: KITT**

**Date: Wednesday, October 5, 1983 2.35 pm**

**To: Bonnie Barstow**

**Subject: Las Vegas**

Forgive my delay in responding, Bonnie, but our 'Las Vegas experience' has turned out rather different than expected. Without going into detail about the case Michael and I were sent to investigate, our involvement seems to have set in motion a very distressing chain of events involving Wilton Knight's family. Devon has been the victim of a devious plot to steal the formula for my molecular bonded shell, and my late creator's memory has been betrayed – by his prodigal son, Garthe.

Did you know of this miscreant's existence, Bonnie? Michael was angry to learn that Devon has been withholding potentially damaging background information about Garthe Knight, especially after the confrontation with KARR last year. Devon claims he was honoring his late friend's wishes. When his son was given three consecutive life sentences in an African prison, Wilton Knight gave Garthe up for dead. He never mentioned him again, and Devon followed his example.

For myself, I am more disturbed by the equal measures of good and evil bequeathed by my creator – when KARR's programming failed, Wilton Knight replaced his computer system with yours, and I was installed in the Knight 2000. Can a father really turn his back on his own child, and then build another in his likeness? Michael is everything that Garthe Knight can never be, yet thanks to the interference of one 'certifiable genius', both men are almost physically indistinguishable. I can only compare Michael's present distress with my self-analysis after clashing with KARR, and how I at once lost my prototype status yet gained a new appreciation for my dominant program. In a way, KARR's destructive behavior reflected badly upon myself – and Wilton Knight, for abandoning his creation – yet I could only benefit in comparison.

Devon has fully recovered from his imbroglio with Elizabeth Knight, and the personal attack on the Foundation has only made Michael more determined to stop Garthe and whatever he is planning. Do not worry about us. I will keep you informed.

**From: Bonnie Barstow**

**Date: Wednesday, October 5, 1983 7.48 pm**

**To: KITT**

**Subject: Garthe Knight**

Kitt, I'm here. I read your message in class, but haven't been able to reply until now – is everybody OK? How are Devon and Michael? I cannot believe any of this. What the hell is going on? I didn't even know that Wilton Knight had a son, never mind that he was serving three life sentences in Africa! Did he escape? What does he want from the Foundation?

I hope the formula for your MBS hasn't fallen into the wrong hands, Kitt. Devon mentioned that there are security measures in place to prevent industrial espionage, but where Wilton Knight's own family are involved, that might not be enough. I know what you went through with KARR last year – discovering his existence, and then watching his destruction – but I don't think the comparison holds for Wilton Knight. Parents can never simply 'replace' a child, Kitt – if Michael's face was surgically reconstructed to resemble Garthe, then I imagine that's because Garthe must look like a younger version of his father. Wilton Knight was a brilliant man, and with brilliance occasionally comes vanity, but I doubt he was trying to turn Michael into a new improved version of his son. He might have stopped talking about Garthe, but I'll bet he never stopped thinking about him – after all, he couldn't even bring himself to destroy KARR

If I thought I could be of any help or comfort to you, or Devon and Michael, I would drive back tonight, but I'm sure everything is under control. Please, please keep me up to date, Kitt. I need to know that my friends are safe.

**From: KITT**

**Date: Thursday, October 6, 1983 6.12 am**

**To: Bonnie Barstow**

**Subject: Status update**

Everyone at the Foundation is safe and well, Bonnie.

I was unable to reply last night because April insisted that I recharge my power packs. Michael and I have been driving all over the desert trying to track down Garthe Knight's base of operations, after Devon confirmed that the formula for my molecular bonded shell has indeed been compromised. Elizabeth and Garthe have certainly been busy – one man is dead, possibly two, and now they have my MBS to add to their arsenal. Are they seeking financial gain, or personal revenge? One productive legacy of the late Miss Walker is that Knight Industries is now prepared to the point of paranoia against industrial espionage, yet seeking to bankrupt the Foundation hardly seems destructive enough for a man like Garthe Knight.

Devon's tardy disclosure that Wilton Knight has a son, especially following on from KARR last year, has made Michael uneasy. I am starting to share his suspicion – what other unpleasant surprises does the Foundation/Knight Industries have in store for us? There are an alarming number of protected files, on both former personnel and shelved projects, which would be a welcome challenge for me to investigate. For the present, however, Wilton Knight's son is keeping Michael and I occupied – April is going to boost the range of my infrared tracking scope so that we can find out just what Garthe is hiding out in the middle of the desert.

If you have the time, I have attached an online game of blackjack for us to play – select either hand to start.

**From: Bonnie Barstow**

**Date: Thursday, October 6, 1983 9.30 am**

**To: KITT**

**Subject: I'd better be the player**

Out of the pair of us, it sounds like I'm the least competitive! What are the stakes?

Kitt, I honestly don't know what to say about the situation at the Foundation. Michael is entitled to be angry, but at the same time, I think I can empathise with Devon's divided loyalties. Wilton Knight was his employer, but also his friend – how much of their long history together should Devon be expected to divulge to Michael? KARR had supposedly been destroyed, and Garthe was locked away in Africa – neither Devon, or Wilton Knight had any way of knowing that both of these past embarrassments might return one day. When KARR got loose, Devon owned to his oversight in not informing Michael – or me – sooner, and now he has made the same admission about Garthe. Try not to be too hard on Devon – he really cares about you both. (And DO NOT start hacking into protected files, Kitt! You might be part of the Knight Industries system, but it would still be a breach of trust. Don't give the technophobes on the board of directors any excuse to turn against you.)

Right now Garthe's piracy of your MBS formula is a greater risk to you and Michael than Devon's selective memory. I doubt Garthe would be able to manufacture the MBS without considerable scientific and engineering assistance, but if he is planning to use the shell and not merely sell on the formula, then he could create a weapon, or machine with an indestructible chassis like your own. Please take care.

And how is April planning to boost your infrared tracking scope, exactly?

**From: Bonnie Barstow**

**Date: Thursday, October 6, 1983 12.30 pm**

**To: KITT**

**Subject: Is everything OK?**

Kitt, I've lost your signal – are you online? Please respond.

**From: Bonnie Barstow**

**Date: Thursday, October 6, 1983 12.46 pm**

**To: April Curtis**

**Subject: Is everything OK?**

April, how are things? I've been trying to get in touch with Kitt, but his signal is down. Do you have a location for the Knight 2000? Thanks.

**From: April Curtis**

**Date: Thursday, October 6, 1983 1.10 pm**

**To: Bonnie Barstow**

**Subject: RE: Is everything OK?**

Bonnie, hi, I'm glad to hear from you, maybe you can help. I don't know where they are – I can't contact Michael, and there's no signal from Kitt here either. The last time anyone heard from them was this morning. Could Michael have shut down Kitt's systems to avoid detection? I can only pray that this is all part of the plan, and that they are both safe. Any advice welcome – I'm still new to all of this, and to Michael and Kitt too.

**From: Bonnie Barstow**

**Date: Thursday, October 6, 1983 1.25 pm**

**To: April Curtis**

**Subject: RE: RE: Is everything OK?**

April, I don't like this. Kitt's homing signal should still be active, even if Michael was crazy enough to shut down his CPU (and he is, believe me). How long since the last transmission from the Knight 2000? If I was there, I would have the semi in position – locate Kitt's last known coordinates and get as close as you can. Complete shutdown of Kitt's systems, including the homing device, can only mean that he has been damaged in some way – perhaps a collision with another armored vehicle? I know about Garthe Knight and the theft of Kitt's MBS formula, though I doubt even Wilton Knight's son couldn't work that fast – manufacturing and applying the chemical compound takes days, even for Knight Industries technicians. But if Garthe has copied the formula already, we could be in serious trouble.

Let me know the second you have any news, please, April – or better yet, can you patch me into the network, temporarily? I can communicate with Kitt and monitor his status from here, but if Kitt is offline, then I'm locked out. I know worrying about Kitt is your job now, April, but please let me help – this is about more than professional privileges, this is about Kitt. Leaving the Foundation was the hardest decision I have ever had to make, but right now I'm tempted to abandon everything and drive straight back. Let me know if you need me.

**From: April Curtis**

**Date: Thursday, October 6, 1983 2.45 pm**

**To: Bonnie Barstow**

**Subject: RE: RE: RE: Is everything OK?**

Bonnie, stay where you are – Kitt and Michael are back with us! You were right about Garthe – he's armored a truck with Kitt's MBS and called the monster rig 'Goliath'. The whole thing was a trap! Garthe was waiting for Michael out in the desert, and used this 'Goliath' to ram Kitt off the road. Kitt's sustained a hell of a lot of damage, like you feared, and I can only really patch up the worst of it from the mobile unit. But he's back online, as I'm sure you will be aware, and really more humiliated than anything else, so you should soon be reading his version of events firsthand.

I'm sorry for causing you to panic, Bonnie – I know how much you care for Kitt, and must miss being part of the team. The hardest part of taking over from you is not knowing what the job will throw at me next, but when the worst does happen, you have no need to worry. I'll take care of them.

**From: KITT**

**Date: Thursday, October 6, 1983 4.34 pm**

**To: Bonnie Barstow**

**Subject: Goliath**

I wish you were here, Bonnie! Nothing like this has ever happened to me before, and only you can understand what I'm going through. April and the Knight Industries technicians have been able to repair most of the damage done to the Knight 2000 by that loutish leviathan in the desert, but I'm not sure that my confidence can be restored so easily. I might not understand fear, or pain to the level of a human being, Bonnie, but I do know that today was the first time I have come so close to total destruction – and that I would prefer not to repeat that experience in the future. My primary duty is to protect Michael, but how can I do that when my own body is equally vulnerable to attack? You are aware of the level of trust Michael places in my capabilities, Bonnie, whenever he drives into danger under the misapprehension that I am indestructible. Now I will be placing both of us at risk.

Bonnie, my confrontation with Goliath was dreadful! Articulated haulage vehicles like the mobile unit can be useful, if lumbering, machines, but Garthe Knight's creation is nothing more than a bully. I knew I had met my match after calculating the sheer size of that beast. When I scanned that he was coated in my MBS as well, all bets were off. Michael, however, put all his money, to use another gambling expression, on my speed and April's recalibration of your laser against Goliath's sheer bulk and the only weak spot in his defences. When the inevitable collision occurred, I was prepared for impact, but not for the devastation that followed. I believe I was in total shut down for approximately five point three minutes, and then I came back online – only to find that nothing was working properly. My scanner was disconnected, I was unable to contact April for assistance, and my self-diagnostic subroutine was unhelpfully malfunctioning. Worst of all was that I was unable to check how badly Michael was hurt – or even if he had survived at all. When I heard him call my name, I overloaded another circuit by trying to answer him and scan his vital signs at the same time, but I was so relieved to hear his voice, Bonnie. If I had failed Michael, despite the fact that he admitted to 'overmatching' me against Goliath, then I would have been lost. You may be surprised to learn that Michael knew where to find the Emergency Schematic Blueprint, if not how to read or utilise the contents, and that his ingenuity was how we were able to get out of the desert (I won't explain his method, because I'm still struggling to believe what happened, and I was there). So your fears over Michael's reckless treatment of Foundation equipment may have been well founded, Bonnie, but he also saved our lives today.

**From: Bonnie Barstow**

**Date: Thursday, October 6, 1983 5.26 pm**

**To: KITT**

**Subject: The nut behind the wheel**

Kitt, thank God! When I lost contact with you, I thought Michael must have finally gone too far – every time he took you from the garage or the mobile unit, I always used to dread that I would be left picking up the pieces. Don't praise his 'ingenuity', Kitt – most likely he was only trying to save his own hide. After all, he was the one to blame in the first place, pitting you against a mountain of metal coated in your own protective shell. What in the hell was he thinking, if at all? Was getting at Garthe Knight so important to him that he was willing to sacrifice you just to take a shot? And April Curtis is supposed to be responsible for your maintenance and support, not Michael's partner in crime – I knew I should have removed those laser power packs, but turning them into auxiliary battery cells made more sense at the time. Of all the reckless behavior! Firing at KARR didn't work, so taking aim against a machine ten times his size – and yours – was nothing short of suicidal.

Are all your systems running at full integrity again, Kitt? Make sure April resets your scanner to an acceptable level – too high, and you risk sensory overload, remember. The 'boosted' infrared scope and laser programming module will already be placing an extra strain on your CPU. And I bet your alpha circuits were the first to go – Michael manages to damage or destroy them on a frequent basis!

Perhaps 'the nut behind the wheel' was right to call me selfish for breaking up the team – our 'family' – at the Foundation. I feel like I should be there with you now, even though I wouldn't have been able to stop Michael from taking you up against this 'Goliath' in the first place. April seems fairly confident that she can handle anything the pair of you throw at her, though, so I'm no doubt worrying unnecessarily, as usual. Some things never change!

I may no longer be your technician, Kitt, but I will always care about you. Michael's blind faith in your infallibility and my longstanding trust in you stem from the same place – the way you were made, and what you have become. We both know you could never let him down, Kitt.

**From: KITT**

**Date: Thursday, October 6, 1983 6.15 pm**

**To: Bonnie Barstow**

**Subject: Alpha circuits**

The laser is a tight fit, as always, and I have had to temporarily dampen my scanner array, but everything else – from alpha circuits to odds calculator – seems to be running smoothly again. Thank you for your concern, Bonnie. April also reinstalled my blackjack application, so I'm ready when you are!

Michael has devised a scheme to get even with Garthe, but I have no intention of renewing my acquaintance with his oversized accomplice, let me assure you. Bonnie, I know that you care about me – and also Michael, though your current antagonism would suggest otherwise. Try not to blame him for what happens to me. Michael and I work together. Yes, I usually bear the brunt of the damage, but that is why Wilton Knight created me – and Michael takes his fair share of risk and injury too, if you recall. The fact is that the Knight 2000 can be rebuilt, and my systems repaired, but human life is fragile and I am prepared to put myself between Michael and any danger that comes our way. My only reservation with Goliath – and KARR in a lesser measure – is that there is no guarantee I will be able to defend Michael against another machine armored with my own shell. In that instance, a strategic withdrawal is always the safest tactic, but I have learned to trust Michael's instincts, even if he occasionally makes the wrong move or goes too far. Trying to protect Michael and failing is never easy, but the alternative simply does not compute.

April asked me why I am still in communication with you. I told her that we were playing blackjack. Hit, stand or surrender?

**From: Bonnie Barstow**

**Date: Thursday, October 7, 1983 8.34 am**

**To: KITT**

**Subject: Stand**

I think I might have upset April by e-mailing her when I lost contact with you, but I had to find out what was going on. I'll try to be more diplomatic in future.

_ Yes, I usually bear the brunt of the damage, but that is why Wilton Knight created me – and Michael takes his fair share of risk and injury too, if you recall._

Kitt, Wilton Knight might have created the Knight 2000 – and KARR – but I programmed you. Don't give him the credit – or lay the blame – for your dominant program. Nobody really 'created' you, except perhaps Michael Knight. And although I hated losing you to him, I'm still proud of who you have become, even under his influence. That's part of why I felt able to leave Knight Industries and start again here, in San Francisco.

I guess a 'clean break' was never going to work! I miss talking to you every day, Kitt, though I'm glad I no longer have to watch you reversing down that ramp and away from the protection of the mobile unit. Stay safe, and keep Michael out of trouble if you can. Let me know what happens with Garthe and his heavyweight semi, but keep your distance! Getting close enough to fire that laser, always assuming Goliath's MBS leaves Michael a target to fire at in the first place, will mean that Garthe will also be in striking range. I don't want to lose you again, Kitt.

**From: KITT**

**Date: Thursday, October 7, 1983 1.06 pm**

**To: Bonnie Barstow**

**Subject: Hit**

Bonnie, you won't believe what happened ...

FIN


End file.
